More Than One Tree

Happy Tuesday dear Readers, the sun is currently shining on my piece of Cornwall, however there are nasty black clouds floating around, so I'm guessing we are in for a drenching later !

The project I'm sharing with you today was inspired by this week's theme over on the Simply Less is More Blog - 'more than one tree'

I am quite a fan of black and white as a colour combo for Christmas cards and as I had black Imagination Crafts sparkle paste and this lovely Memory Box trees stencil these were my inspiration.

After using the sparkle paste through the stencil onto white cardstock I used a Sizzix Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers 'PEACE' die and a scrap of white cardstock to create the simple sentiment.  I used an oval punch to make it a little smaller then attached it over a scrap of black cardstock cut using the same punch.

The holly border embossing folder was a magazine freebie and I embossed a strip of white card with it and attached next to the rectangular trees panel on the 6 x 6 base card.

I do hope the 'SLIM Ladies' will feel my card is CAS enough for their challenge !

I've been playing around with stencils and texture paste recently and am really enjoying myself, so be warned, you will see a few more projects using this method in the coming days - not all of them Christmas themed you may be pleased to hear !

Have a great day, whatever you have planned.

Razzle Dazzle Thursday

Hi Folks, it's Thursday again and so I have a card to share with you.  It's my DT project for this week's challenge on the Cute Card Thursday Blog.  The theme for this challenge is 'Razzle Dazzle' and the prize sponsor is Bugaboo Stamps.

I decided on a CAS layout for my card, although the main image was actually far from CAS to create !

To create the main element I first took a piece of Tim Holtz text printed tissue - I've had this in my stash for a very long time but had not used any of it - glued the tissue to a piece of white card large enough to fit the stamped image. 

After the tissue covered panel was dry, I brushed some PaperArtsy acrylic semi-opaque paint around the edges to age/distress it a little.   I then stamped the image using Versamark and embossed with black embossing powder.  The image is a Karantha Stamp by Crafty Notions.

Using PaperArtsy acrylic chalk paints I roughly painted the flowers and leaves of the image, allowing the paints to spread outside the image outline.  Once this was dry, I painted a thin layer over the whole thing with PaperArtsy acrylic metallic glaze, to give the panel a shiny finish without covering up the text background too much.  Using a soft dry cloth, I rubbed gently over the embossed image to remove the metallic glaze and chalk paints and reveal the black embossed outline underneath.

Finally I sprinkled on some Aged Silver Frantage embossing enamel and used a heat gun to melt it from underneath.

Here's a close up shot of the panel showing the melted Frantage

I attached the decorated panel to a slightly larger piece of black card then adhered to an 8 x 8 scalloped base card.  Using a stamp from a PaperArtsy set I stamped the sentiment with jet black Archival ink and added three gems as a finishing touch. 

This week's challenge over on the Simply Less is More Blog has the theme of  'Newsprint' and as my card is CAS and has 'newsprint' on it I will be entering the LIM challenge with it.

Thank you for dropping by to check out today's project, hope you enjoyed your visit.

Mostly Words

I hope you've had a great weekend, here in my little part of Cornwall the weather has been fabulous all weekend, lovely warm and sunny.  I've been making a few batches of Christmas cards over the weekend and it has felt a little strange working with icy images and festive sentiments during this warm weather.

I've made batches of around 5 or 6 of each design, this is one of the designs which I think is perfect for the challenge launched yesterday on the Simply Less is More Blog with the theme of  'Mostly Words' .

I used a festive words embossing folder on a plain white C6 base card to create the background.

Using a set of stamps and matching dies from Sizzix Hero Arts to stamp the Happy Holidays square and cut out using the die.  Using a set of Sizzix Framelits dies I cut the pennant shape from a scrap of Stampin' Up! Cherry Cobbler cardstock, and attached it behind the square.

A simple but effective design I think and ideal for batch making, good to know I've added a few more to my stock of cards for this Christmas.

Thanks for dropping by to check out my latest project,  I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Oh I Do Like to Be Beside The Seaside......

Happy Sunday morning Bloggers, we've got sunshine here so far today, however the forecast is for showers to develop later in the day, ah well it's nice to see some blue sky for the moment anyway.

This morning I'm off out to take my Dad home, he's been staying with me for the past month and I'm really going to miss him. 

I wasn't sure I'd get a card made before we need to leave but inspiration struck as I was waking up and I was able to put my hands on the exact stamp set I wanted to use for my entry for this week's Simply Less is More challenge, which is the title I've used for today's post.  This week we need to create a one layer card.

Here's my entry...

The stamp set I was inspired to use is by Crafty Individuals, all of the images in the set are fabulous and I particularly like the little row of beach huts.  For this card I used the sentiment, both sizes of seagull and the tiny shell stamps.

I created the background using a Hero Arts set of stamps, selecting this lush splat image and two colours of Stampin'Up! ink - Coastal Cabana and Crushed Curry.

My design concept was to use the yellow to represent the beach and the blue as the sky - did it work do you think ?  Did you see what I was trying to do when you first saw my card ?  I'd love to hear your reactions.

Nothing else to say about today's project, I've five minutes to pack the car and then we'll be heading up the road.

Thanks for dropping by here today, have a great day yourself whatever you have planned.

A Sketch for Inspiration

Happy Tuesday Bloggers, at least it's a tad warmer here in my bit of Cornwall than it was yesterday, I was flippin frozen and spent the evening snuggled under my blankie watching a couple of DVDs.  It's a little drier here today too, and I do believe the sun is struggling to break through.  Anyway, enough about the weather.

Regular visitors here will have noticed that I haven't done a lot of crafting or Blogging during this year, partly due to the fact I've been away from home rather a lot and I've also lost my inspiration with Mr Mojo hiding away somewhere for much of the time.

This week's challenge over on the Less is More Blog has a sketch to work with and this inspired me to come up with my latest project

I like the simple sketch for this week and I was also inspired by an article in the latest Split Coast Stampers newsletter, demonstrating the effects which can be created using what they call 'stamp etching'.

I used Stampin'Up! Baja Breeze cardstock, gingham design roller stamp and sentiment, a magazine freebie flower stamp plus black Pitt Pen to create the etching effect and doodled frame around the edge of the rectangle. 

Finally, I added Glossy Accents in the centre of the flower to give a little dimension.

This is my first entry for the LIM challenge in absolutely ages, in fact it's the first challenge of any sort that I've entered in months !

Thanks for dropping by to check out today's project, hope you enjoyed your visit.

Happy Velentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all my visitors and followers, I hope you are having a lovely day.

Once again here in Cornwall we are being battered by severe storms, very high winds and heavy rain but so far no hail today although it is quite cold.  Once again, I'm so grateful that we live a little inland and not on the coast and not in a flood prone area.  I hope everyone manages to stay safe (if not dry) through this dreadful weather.

Today's project is a Valentine's card - what else !

This is a one layer card with just one tiny embellishment. 

I used the fabby large Impression Obsession 'Cover a Page' script stamp, but first I used a couple of Craft Stamper freebie stamps - the dotty heart and the heart with bird.  I stamped them onto masking paper (it's a little more expensive than post-it notes but I get a better result with my masking using it as it's lightly tacky all over) the dotty heart twice and heart with bird once.  I cut them out and attached them to the front of the card where I wanted the final images to be. 

I then used the large script stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black ink to stamp once onto the front of the card (including over the masked areas).  Once the ink was dry I removed the masks, exposing unstamped areas just the right size for stamping into with the heart shaped stamps. 

Using Stampin' Up! Raspberry Ripple ink I stamped into the blank spaces - I love how the red really 'pops' against the black text.  I stamped the tiny sentiment using an SU! stamp and matching tiny scallop punch, before attaching it over the bottom heart, using Pin Flair glue to add dimension.

Finally, I added Glossy Accents on the sentiment and on the bird, branch, flower and swirls in the centre heart image, just to give it a little more interest and texture.

Clean and Simple and just right for this week's challenge over on the Less is More Blog I think as the theme is 'Anything Goes'. 

Thanks for calling in to see what's been going on in Stamping Grandma's crafty space today, stay warm, dry and safe if you are experiencing bad weather.  Hope you'll be back here real soon.

Celebrating a Big Birthday !

It's never easy to make a card for a man, even more difficult when it's a 'Special' birthday.  To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of having big numbers on the front of a card shouting out one's age, although I know lots of people do like them.  The design I had in mind when planning my card fits the current challenge over on the Simply Less is More Blog which has a sketch to follow this week.

The project I'm sharing with you today is a card I've made for a pal who has a Big birthday coming up very soon - hope he likes it !

During the recent Sizzix sale I bought a few new dies and stamp and die sets - well, with prices up to 80% off, I just couldn't resist !  It took me a while and a great deal of perseverance as the their website is so very slow and I guess there were lots of transactions going on due to the sale.  However, it paid off as I was able to pick up a few Movers and Shapers dies for just over £1.50 each and stamp and die sets for just over £3 a set - bargain ! 

I used one of the Tim Holtz Alterations Bigz dies I got in the sale and cut the shape for my design from a scrap of black cardstock.  This is a great diecut shape to use on men's cards I think and I use the stamp of this design a lot, although it is a great deal smaller.

Rather than add a layer onto the base card at the bottom to follow the sketch, I drew lines with my fine Pitt Pen to suggest a layer.  The sentiments are from Stampin' Up! and 'Celebrate' was stamped using Raspberry Ripple ink and 'it's your day' stamped using black Archival ink.

A CAS card which is nice and flat for posting at small letter rate - result !

I hope you enjoyed your visit today. 

Designer Paper and a Fabby Stamp

Good morning Folks, it's almost the weekend, got any exciting plans ?  I'll bet you are like me and will be fitting in at least a little crafting time.  I'm beavering away at making Christmas cards in every spare moment and today's project is - you've guessed it - a small batch of cards.

... and here's a close up shot of one of the cards

Whilst visiting my pal Kathy for a crafting weekend last week, she allowed me to stamp up some images from her newly-acquired JOFY gift box stamp.  Whilst not specifically a Christmas image, coloured in festive shades, it looks great on a Christmas design.  It was lovely to just sit and colour these images whilst chatting with my pal.

Once home, I decided to use the images after fussy cutting them out, to make a small batch of Christmas cards.  This week's theme on the Simply Less is More Challenge Blog is to 'use Designer Paper in a CAS way' so I'm going to submit this batch of cards as my second entry this week.

The image was coloured with ProMarkers and the Designer Paper is from SU!  I used a corner rounder on the one edge.  The sentiment is from Clarity Stamps and is stamped using SU! Cherry Cobbler ink.

That's it from me today, I'm busy, busy, busy getting my festive preparations underway - cardmaking, sewing, gift buying, food planning etc.  Have a great day whatever you have planned.

Using Designer Paper in a CAS Way !

We're back to dark, dull and damp weather here in my bit of Cornwall today - hmph !  I do so hate these dark days of November, find them sooo depressing and with such bad light it makes it more difficult to see to colour images well.  I'm generally a 'warm soul' but it seems that the dampness seeps right into me when it's also cold and makes me feel pretty bleugh !  Anyway, enough of my moaning, I'm sure that the sun is shining somewhere and making everyone feel happy.

Today I'm sharing with you a card I made to enter this week's Simply Less is More Challenge.  We are asked this week to use Designer Paper in a CAS way.  Here's my creation

I used one of the dies from the SU! Framelets Holiday Ornaments set and a scrap of SU! Christmas patterned paper.  This is one of those 'happy accidents' that happen as I did cut out the bauble from the other side of this yummy paper which was green and cream.  However, when I turned it over I loved how the lacy pattern was perfectly placed on the shape so decided to use the brown and cream  side as I love the combination with the red ink of the sentiment. 

The sentiment is from Clarity Stamps and I used SU! Cherry Cobbler ink to stamp it direct onto the base card. 

I found a little scrap of tiny ric rac ribbon in my stash, attached a short length to the top of the bauble and a longer length hanging down from the top of the card to look like the bauble is suspended.

The final touch was to add a little Stardust Stickles - I used this rather than another colour as it's translucent and doesn't hide the pattern on the paper but gives a little added sparkle - well it is a Christmas Bauble !

As I've been busy making a couple of batches of cards this morning, one of the designs fits right in with this theme, so I'll be sharing that project with you another day and if I'm in time, will enter a second card for this week's challenge. 

Have a wonderful crafty day !

I'm dreaming of a pink and blue Christmas

Hello folks, missed me ?  I'm currently away from home and my stash and for the most part have very little Internet connection.  I have, however managed to acquire a little craft stash and got a couple of cards made.

Using the limited stash at my disposal, I've made an entry for this week's challenge over on the Simply Less is More Blog which this week is a sketch.

The image is one of the stamps in a set by Hampton Arts, as is the sentiment.  I stamped and coloured the image using alcohol inks before fussy cutting out.  I used a doilley as the circular element of the sketch, stamping all over randomly with some Brilliance Orchid ink and using two of the snowflake stamps from the set. 

Thanks for dropping by to check out today's project, hope you enjoyed your visit.

Gift tag

Happy Wednesday folks, apologies for being so late in the day with my post today - I have been very busy trying hard to clear up and clear out in my craftroom....... well, I needed to make enough space for me to actually work in !

My project today is a small tag card (4" x 4") I created to go with a gift sent to a friend.  I'm also entering it for this week's Less is More Challenge, which asks us to use a rubber stamp and watercolour.

So..... here it is :

I used one of my lovely JOFY for Paperartsy stamps, I just love these images.  I stamped the image onto the base card using 'Gathered Twiggs' Distress Ink.  I then used Picked Raspberry and Bundled Sage Distress Inks with a waterbrush to colour the image - not too precisely, just a suggestion of shape and not staying within the lines of the stamped image.

Here's hoping that the recipient liked both the card and the gift ! 

We have a wonderfully warm and sunny day here again today in my part of Cornwall, but according to the weather forecast it's going to change for the worse from tomorrow, heavy rain by the end of the week  - humph !

Tomorrow I'll be sharing my project for the new Cute Card Thursday Challenge for this week, I hope you'll pop back to check it out.

Wishi... Washi..... Birdsong

Happy Bank Holiday Monday to all you Bloggers in the UK, hope you're having a great day - the sun is shining here in my bit of Cornwall and I hope it stays long enough for us to have a BBQ later this afternoon.

The card I'm sharing with you today is my entry for this week's Simply Less is More Challenge which asks us to use Washi Tape on our designs.  I do have quite a few rolls of Washi but decided to go monochrome and use the fabby 'birds on a wire' and music notes tapes.

 



I created a 'sun' by spraying a short burst of Lemon Zest Dylusions Ink, holding the nozzle very close to the basecard.   I then stamped the birds in flight from a set of stamps by Visible Image over the top of the 'sun' before adding the two strips of Washi at the bottom.

That's it, simple but effective I think. 

Thanks for taking the time to visit today, hope you enjoyed today's project.

Wet Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Folks, I do hope you have better weather wherever you are than the horrid rain that's falling on my bit of Cornwall this morning.  Mind you, the rain was forecast but I always live in hope that I'll awaken to a bright sunny and warm morning.  Today it's dark, damp and quite chilly... brrrrrr !  Certainly a day to stay indoors and head to my table of craftiness I think, although I had planned to get a little work done in the garden - guess that'll have to wait until another day.

Today's project is a card I created for this week's Less is More Challenge, a one layer card to include numbers.  I was a little stuck for ideas on this one, but whilst looking through a box of ready stamped images I have in my stash, I came across this clock face* - Perfick !

*Apologies but I don't know the manufacturer of the stamp, if anyone can enlighten me, please do so as I like to acknowledge the manufacturer of any images I use in my work.

 

It is actually only one layer as I cut an aperture in the front on the base card using a Nellies Choice die and placed the clock image behind to show through the hole.  I used Distress Inks to colour the clock image before assembling and to add a little colour to the card front.  The sentiment is from a set of stamps by PaperArtsy and I stamped it using SU! Midnight Muse ink. 

 



I've also been doing a little embroidery work for a very special project.  Here's what I've done so far

I drew the angel and wrote the words freehand using a pen designed for fabrics and disappears when heated with an iron (very useful).  My writing isn't perfect but it's fine for this purpose.  I embroidered over the drawn/written images with two strands of embroidery silks, using backstitch. 

That's it for today from me, I have completed another quilt and I'll share pix of it another day. 

Thanks so much for visiting today, hope you've enjoyed today's projects.

Imagining Shades of Grey

Goooood Morning Folks, the sun is still shining on me here in Cornwall and it's so lovely to wake up to warm sunny mornings.  Breakfast in the fresh air just starts the day off in the perfect way.

I've a CAS style card to share with you today and it gave me the opportunity to ink up a couple of new stamps acquired at the Newbury Race Course Art Stamps Show last sunday.

I'm entering my card for this week's challenge over on the Simply Less is More Blog which has the theme 'Shades of Grey'.

Whilst I haven't used 50 shades on my design, I have used the two different shades of grey ink that I own - Memento London Fog and SU! Basic Grey. 

I used two of the stamp sets I bought from Visible Images - I just love this fabulous bird and the 'splats'.  I firstly stamped the sentiment using Basic Grey ink then added the bird image and splats using London Fog.

That's it, clean and simple and a design that showcases these fabulous stamps.

Have a great day and stay cool if the temperature is rising wherever you are in the world.  Thanks for dropping by to check out my latest project.

'Happy Birthday Jen' - LIM #125

Well, it's a brand new week starting today, we've passed the Summer Solstice and still no signs of any real Summer weather !  At least it's dry here today so far, a tad warmer than it was yesterday and the strong winds have gone, so I guess this is as good as it's going to get for now and we'll have to make the most of it. 

I have my lovely Dad visiting with me at the moment and I had lots of fun yesterday helping him with a couple of quilting projects.  During his last visit he learned how to use my sewing machine and was just itching to get more projects started. 

Firstly we finished off the fabric key fob he has made for my Niece and then we embarked on a much larger project.  We had a few strips of lovely brightly coloured fabrics and he's stitched these into a lovely colourful table runner.  There is a little hand sewing still to do to finish off the binding and then I'll share some pix with you.  I'm so proud of my Dad, he loves trying new things and learning new skills and he's a great crafter. 

Now on to today's post and the reason for the title.  This week's challenge over on the Simply Less is More blog is to create a birthday card for one of their DT members Jen, hence my 'Happy Birthday Jen' post title.

Here's my entry for the challenge, I just had to get my new PaperArtsy JOFY stamps inky !  This set (JOFY11) includes some fabby individual words which can be used to create a number of different sentiments.

 

I stamped some of the flowers from the set onto a piece of cardstock which I'd coloured using Distress Inks, then added a little colour to the stamped images using Copics.  I stamped the butterfly from the set directly on to the base card and added a little colour, again using my Copics.  Finally I selected some of the individual words from the stamp set to create a sentiment then stamped it just below the butterfly image.

 

Thanks for visiting today, hope you like my latest project.  Thanks also to my lovely new Followers for deciding to join.   I'm always thrilled to see my follower numbers increasing when I check my blog and I try my best to keep on sharing projects that I think visitors will enjoy seeing. 

Hand Stitched Hexagons

Happy sunny Wednesday Folks - well is very warm and sunny here today !

The Simply Less is More Challenge this week is to use Hexagons on our CAS cards.  If you've visited here in recent weeks you will have noticed that I'm in a bit of a hexie zone right now so this challenge theme is right up my street.  I've been busy hand sewing hexagons which I shall be sewing together to form a handmade quilt.  It's going to take me quite some time I think as I've chosen to sew 7 hexies into flower shapes and I've worked out I will need approximately 140 flower shapes to stitch together - lots of hexies needed !!

Anyway, I digress.....  my copy of the latest Simply Homemade magazine dropped through the letterbox a couple of days ago and it came with a free gift of a set of stamps - all sewing related and including a tiny hexagon image, how cool is that ?  Perfect to use on my LIM entry this week.

Here's my first attempt...  I wasn't all that pleased with it, so made a second one.

Here's the second one.... what do you think ?  which one do you prefer ?

Thanks for taking the time to drop by to check out my crafting bits and pieces, it's lovely to see you !

The World of Colour

I'm soooo... late posting on here today, been busy busy busy - lots to do and very little time to get it all done ! 

With all the travelling and being away from home and my stash that I've done recently, Mr Mojo has been hiding away from me.  I knew I had to get some cards made to meet deadlines, but no ideas were popping into my head.  However, I just knew that my new Paper Artsy JOFY stamps (acquired during my visit to Birds in the Barn last week) would kick-start my creative juices and they've worked a treat !

I haven't entered many of the Simply Less is More challenges for quite a while, but their colour challenge this week really fired my imagination.  So, here's my entry for their latest challenge

The LIM challenge asks us to use colours on the opposite side of the colour wheel - I've chosen the Violet/Yellow combo for my design.

I created the background of the image layer using Mustard Seed Distress Ink - applied using Inkyliscious brushes and my blending mat.  I then stamped one of my scrumptious new JOFY stamps onto the background using Seedless Preserves DI.  Using my Copic pens I added more colour to the flower to give it emphasis against the background.  I then layered it over a piece of matching cardstock.

The sentiment is another stamp from my fav Inkadinkado sentiments set, which I stamped using Versafine ink. 

Thanks for visiting, hope you enjoyed today's project.

Caught in the Act !....

Intrigued by my post title ?  All will be revealed later !

There's a sketch for this week's Simply Less is More blog challenge, it's a simple and classic layout but we are asked to stick to it exactly, no different orientations or moving around the elements.

Here's my entry

I haven't entered the LIM challenges in quite some time, what with being away from home and my stash a lot recently and having lots to do when I have been home, there just hasn't been time to enter many challenges.

When I saw this week's sketch an idea for a card popped into my head, ideal as I needed to get an Anniversary card made anyway.

I used a flower stamp from a set of freebie stamps I acquired recently - stamped using Stampin'Up! Midnight Muse ink - to stamp randomly on the centre panel.  I mounted the stamped layer on a very slightly larger piece of Midnight Muse cardstock to give it a narrow border.  I created the sentiment on my computer and cut it out using a pennant die by Spellbinders, before attaching using foam pads.  As a finishing touch I added a couple of gems to the topmost flower and three gems underneath the stamped layer. 

Now, to the reason for my post title.  I have my 86 year old Dad staying with me for a few weeks, he's an avid papercrafter and cardmaker (and a whizz on the computer !)  and we've been having so much fun crafting together whilst he's been here.  As I've been doing a fair bit of sewing lately, he was curious to see if he could master my gorgeous new sewing machine and have a go at making something himself (never having used any sewing machine before, I might add !)

So, this morning found him busy getting acquainted with the machine.....

... and within a short time, he'd finished off these lovely projects.... how cool is that ? 

I'm so Blessed to have my Dad with me and doubly so as we have so many interests in common.  I shall be really sad when he goes home again in a few days, but will be looking forward to his next visit when we can maybe plan some more adventurous projects to work on together.

Thanks for dropping by to see today's creations, hope you've enjoyed your visit.

Up in the air !

It's a lovely sunny and fresh day here in my part of Cornwall again today, hope you have some nice weather too.

 

This week the challenge on the Simple Less is More blog has the theme 'Up in the air' and they suggest using images of balloons or planes etc.  As birds are 'up in the air' for a lot of the time, I decided to use a bird image for my entry.  I love this very atmospheric image from a set of stamps by Indigo Blu which I purchased at the Birds in the Barn craft store in Essex last year when I visited with a crafting pal.

Firstly I created a background using Distress Inks blended on to a piece of white cardstock, then water flicked onto the surface and blotted.  After leaving it to dry I stamped the image over the top using black Archival Ink, then trimmed to size before attaching to a very slightly larger layer of black cardstock. 

The sentiment is from the same set of IB stamps stamped directly onto the basecard using the black Archival Ink.  The gorgeous swirl was cut from another scrap of the black cardstock using a Memory Box die then glued into place.

Thanks for stopping by to check out today's project, I've got some sewing to share with you next time.  Have a wonderful day, wherever you are and whatever you have planned.

Create, Inspire, Dream

 

 

The project I'm sharing with you today is a card I've created to enter this week's challenge over on the Simply Less is More blog. 

 

We have this sketch to work with and, of course, it must be in the  CAS style. 

 

 

For my design I've used a couple of stamps from a recently acquired set of  Stampers' Anonymous Tim Holtz stamps.  I stamped the images using SU! Crumb Cake ink then overstamped the words from a set of  stamps from The Artistic Stamper using Memento Paris Dusk ink.

 

Not much more I can tell you about my card really, I am happy with the finished design and love the contrast between the colours of the Crumb Cake and Paris Dusk inks.  .

 

Thanks for dropping by today, have a great day whatever you have planned.